10 Cool Bridges from Around the World

1. The Moses Bridge, Netherlands

Designed by architecture group RO & AD, The Moses Bridge is constructed out of Accoya wood, a hi-tech wood that is supposedly harder and more durable than some of the best tropical woods. It is treated with a nontoxic anti-fungal coating to maintain its split-the-water functionality.

2. Da Vinci Bridge, Norway

A bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci to span the Golden Horn in Istanbul has been built some 500 years later! Wild, right? The bridge now spans a motorway in the less exotic setting of Aas, a small town 20 miles north of Oslo, Norway. However, it is the first major civil engineering project to be built from da Vinci's drawings. Da Vinci first sketched the bridge for Sultan Bajazet II, but none of the Sultan’s engineers thought it could be done!

3. Henderson Waves, Singapore

This nearly 900-foot pedestrian bridge is the highest of its kind in Singapore, connecting two parks. The bridge has a wave-form made up of seven undulating curved steel ribs that alternately rise over and under its deck. The curved ribs form alcoves that function as shelters with seats within.

4. The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, England

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is sometimes referred to as the 'Blinking Eye Bridge' or the 'Winking Eye Bridge' due to its shape and its tilting method. It’s a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England. Definitely one I need to check out ASAP. Such fun!

5. Rolling Bridge, England

This 39-foot timber and steel bridge was built in 2004 to act as a walkway over a small section of London's Grand Union Canal. An innovative hydraulic system in the bridge's handrail allows it to retract and curl into an octagon, which it does every Friday at noon.

6. Slauerhoffbrug, Netherlands

The Slauerhoffbrug, located in Leeuwarden, was designed by Van Driel Mechatronica and is a fully automatic bridge with the ability to sense and adapt to its surroundings. It’s very Terminator-like in its ability to quickly sense and transform to the position needed, allowing ships to pass. You definitely don't want to get on this bridge's bad side! :-)

7. The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge , Brazil

Architect Alexandre Chan and structural engineer Mario Vila Verde, both from Rio de Janeiro, entered the idea of this bridge into a competition aiming to solve the problem of closing the gap between commuters and their homes. According to Chan, the idea was “to create a landmark for the enjoyment of the community as much as to simply traverse a body of water.”

8. The Millau Viaduct, France

Designed by French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster, the Millau Viaduct is the 12th highest bridge in the world, at 890 ft above the road deck.

9. Pythonbrug, Amsterdam

If you’re wondering why you don’t see such works of art stateside, that’s because such a design wouldn't pass muster under the Americans With Disabilities Act, which sets a 5 percent limit on the grade of such structures. Well that, and maybe we don’t have the guts to build such a forward thinking structure? Yes, that’s a challenge folks!

10. Oresund Bridge, Sweden

The Oresund Bridge crosses the Oresund strait and joins Sweden with Denmark. It begins as a cable-stayed bridge in Sweden and ends as a tunnel in Denmark. A small artificial island was built around the tunnel's entrance to keep water from creeping in.